Description: Give each
child a hard boiled egg with a toothy grin drawn on it.Tell the children that
eggs and our teeth are made of the same thing - Calcium.Place the eggs in plastic
cups and fill some of the cups with coke or tea. Leave overnight then
use a large spoon to remove the eggs. Dry the eggs that were in the coke
/ tea filled cups with a paper towel.

Now show the children
an egg that was not put in the coke and observe how the coke eggs have
become discolored. Tell the children that we can brush the egg just
like we brush our teeth. Sing this song to the tune of Oh
My Darling Clementine as you encourage
children to brush their teeth.

Brush your
front teeth,Brush your back teeth,Brush to bottom and
the top.If you brush them
each and every day,Then your smile will
never stop.

Comment: Your class can
also make their own toothpaste using 3 parts baking soda and 1 part salt.

Dental Health ArtPreschoolers use motor
skills and learn about tooth brushing during this art activity from Mindy.

Description: In advance
prepare outlines of a tooth for each child. Then take a little bit of
white paint and mix it with an equal amount of corn syrup. Using
the picture / outline of a tooth, let the kids dip the toothbrush in the
paint and "brush" the tooth. When it dries it will look like enamel.
We talk about how to brush your teeth and they can practice on their pictures.

Description: Teachers put glitter on your
hands. Explain that we are pretending that the glitter is germs.
Then shake a child's hand and say, "Look, she's got my germs." The
child then shakes someone else's hand, etc. You then choose one
child to go wash their hands, but do not dry with a paper towel yet.

The child comes and shows the class his or
her hands (not all of the glitter will be gone yet). Then have the
child dry his or her hands and show class again. Children now see
how important it is to both wash and dry their hands.

Description: To make a poster that hangs in
your bathroom to remind children to do a good job when washing, this is what we did.
I took a picture of each child washing his or her hands. Each child had lots
of soapy bubbles on his or her hands that we named "Bubble Buddies". I attached the
photos to a piece of poster board and then wrote at the top Did
you see your Bubble Buddies today?

Hand
Washing Rap(Improvise a rap tune)You gotta wash your hands, you gotta wash
them rightDon't give in to germs without a fight.

Use water that's warm and lots of soapy
bubbles,These are your weapons for preventing germ
troubles.Don't cut short your time, your fingers
get between,It takes 20 seconds to make sure they're
clean.

Literacy and Hand WashingChildren will be able to see how germs are passed
from one person to another person with this personal health activity from
Celeste C.

Materials: Glitter,
soap and water and the book: Those Mean Nasty Dirty Downright
Disgusting But Invisible Germs

Description: Have a couple of children sprinkle
different colors of glitter on the palms of their hands. Read the story
book. The children with glitter on their hands are asked to shake
hands with the other children in the group. Have the children look
at their hands and talk about what happened. Next, have the children wash
their hands with soap and water. Now talk with the children about what
happened.

Dramatic
Play: "Germ Control"Cindy S. offers this healthy good housekeeping
activity to introduce children to proper hand washing before and after
handling food.

Description: During circle time sing songs
about hand washing. I present pictures to help the children understand
the sequence of hand washing. The children are introduced to what
germs are and how we can try to control them. Reading a book about germs
helps with this.

Next, divide the group into small groups of
four children. The children pretend to wash hands in the kitchen area
before handling food. While washing hands the children will have an opportunity
to review the sequence of hand washing. While washing, encourage the children
to sing the song that they learned about hand washing (see activity below).
Since it take a little time for hands to be properly washed singing the
song will give youngsters time to really clean their hands. Now, they
can pretend to do food preparations in the kitchen area.

Healthy
Hand Washing SongPreschool teachers explain to young children
that germs make people sick and can stay on our hands. Hand washing
is the best way to get rid of them. It's also the best way to keep
from passing these germs on to other people. If you wash your hands with
soap under running water while singing this song your hands will be really
clean.

SneezingStarla J. offers a way to demonstrate
how germs spread with this personal hygiene activity.

Materials:
Baby powder or tissue.

Description: Teachers can use either powder
or a tissue. If you use a tissue rip it up into tiny pieces and hide it inside your
hand. Talk about sneezing and how the children need to cover their mouths.
Then pretend to sneeze and blow the powder or the tissues on the children.

Sneeze PaintingDebbie R. shows children how germs are
spread through sneezing and coughing whenthey forget to cover their mouth.

Materials: A large piece of paper, 2 to 4
spray bottles filled with colored water.

Description: Teachers read the book The
Cow Buzzed. Next talk to the youngsters about germs and how
they spread. Now place the paper on an easel and allow the children to
spray the paper with the colored water. You can also let the youngsters
spray their hands and touch the paper to see what happens to the "germs" when they don't wash them off their
hands.Comments: The children really seem to understand
this concept.

Where
Are The Germs?Young children use self help skills as they
learn the importance of hand washing during this activity from Susan
R.

Materials: Small balloon and glitter.

Description: While discussing the transmission
of germs, I put some glitter in a balloon. I then blow up the balloon and
tie it. As the children sit in a circle, I pretend to sneeze into
my hands where the balloon is. I then pop the balloon as I sneeze and
the glitter goes everywhere. I explain that germs travel so we have to
try to be as clean as possible. I then vacuumed the glitter with
the children's help.

For the next two days we found glitter in
all different places. I explained that this is how colds are spread.
The children really learned a lot and passed it on to their parents.
They also found "germs" that they had transported home.My afterschool youngsters also learned from
this experiment.

Comments: I use this activity every year.
It makes the lesson real to the children.

Description: Give each child a piece of white
bread and ask them to cough on it, sneeze on it, rub their hands with it or
wipe it on different areas of the classroom (bathroom, pet cages, etc.).
Then put it in a ziploc baggie with the child's name on it and a description
of where the germs came from. Seal the bags and lay them all out
so children can observe them during the next two weeks.

Put magnifying glasses on the table with the
bread so children can watch the germs growing.

Description: What child has not dreamed of
catching the Tooth Fairy red handed? Well this can be arranged when you invite someone
who is willing to portray the fairy into your room the week you are learning
about the importance of healthy teeth. Our janitor was willing to dress
up one year. She borrowed a prom dress, made her self a crown and a magic wand. She
was wonderful. She looked into each child's mouth to see how many teeth were missing
then waved her wand over themto make good teeth return. The children loved
the visit. This year I have invited a lady who loves and collects fairies. She
is so excited and so am I.

Poem:
I Had A Loose ToothAfter children learn this poem invite them
to draw a picture of what they would look like if one of their teeth were
missing.

I had a loose tooth,A wiggly, jiggly loose tooth.I had a loose tooth,A-hanging by a thread.I pulled my loose tooth,My wiggly, jiggle loose tooth,Put it 'neath my pillow,And then I went to bed.The fairy took my loose tooth,My wiffly, jiffly loose tooth.And now I have a quarter,And a hole in my head.

Description: Use the construction paper to
cut out a large tooth shape. Explain to the children that yellow teeth are not healthy
and we need to brush them to make them a healthy white. Next, give each
child a toothbrush and toothpaste and have them "brush" the tooth until
it is white.

Science: Keep Tooth Decay AwayRabiah L. suggests this oral hygiene
activity to help children discover what happens to teeth if they are not
brushed regularly.

Description: Talk to the children about what
they think will happen to their teeth if they do not brush them at night
and in the morning. Read the book, Bearstein Bears Visit
the Dentist. Talk about sister bear's fears and brother bear's
visit. Did they brush well? Why do they think they got the good results?
How should you brush your teeth? What is the proper way?

Have enough hard boiled eggs so that each
child can have one. Fill a cup with a dark soda. Tell the children that
we are going to pretend that the egg is their tooth. Ask them to gently
put the egg into the dark soda. Tell them the soda represents candy, soda, etc. Things that are bad for their teeth.
You can also brainstorm about things that are good and bad for their teeth.
Leave the eggs in the soda overnight.

The next day, have the children see what happened
to the eggs. (They will turn brown) Ask them why they think this happened.
They are amazed at how the egg looks when they come back the next day
and realize that good brushing is a priority. Have the children take a
soft toothbrush and toothpaste and gently brush their "tooth" clean.

Comments: You can easily save toothbrushes
year to year. I go to the dollar store and get 20 brushes for 10 dollars
and save them each year.

Floss
Your TeethMrs. C. teaches
preschoolers how to floss their teeth during this dental hygiene activity.

Materials: Egg carton, white yarn and scissors.

Description: Take an empty egg carton and
cut, so you'll have three pieces.You don't need the top of carton, just the
bottom. Cut a long piece of yarn (white) and use as floss. Turn the carton
over so the bottom will be face up, this will act as your teeth. Ask kids
to wrap the yarn around their fingers and start to floss!

Literacy and Crocodile TeethTooth brushing is the focus of this activity
by Lori. Just be careful with the shaving cream because it stings
eyes.

Materials: Green poster board, tooth brushes,
shaving cream, the book The Crocodile and The Dentist.

Description: Cut out big crocodiles from the
poster board. Staple plastic egg carton onto the crocodiles mouth and let children
brush his teeth with shaving cream. Read the story The
Crocodile and The Dentist before or after this activity.

Comments: I cut out 4 crocodiles and had them
laminated before I used them.

Tooth
TallyThis is the system that Merrie K. uses
to keep track of lost teeth throughout the year.

Materials: Large white tag board in the shape
of a tooth.

Description: Keep track of lost teeth throughout
the year by writing the names of the child on the tag board tooth and the
dates when teeth were lost. Then at the end of the year, use the personal data
to make a chart or bar graph.

Game:
Healthy CharadesAnn P. helps youngsters become aware
of different healthy activities when they play this game.

Description: Have children sit in a circle.
Ask one child to stand up. In the child's ear whisper the name of an activity
that promotes good health, such as washing hands, brushing teeth, using facial
tissue, getting exercise, sleepingetc. Then have the child act out the
activity and let the other children guess what it is. Continue until each child
has had a chance to act out a healthy activity.

Description: Draw a circle in the middle of
each piece of poster board, cut the circle out and then use your markers to decorate
the area around the circle.Write This Is A Book About
Feelings using the top and bottom of the page.On the other pages write "This is me when I'm
feeling sad", happy, etc. After decorating and writing the words on the
pages, laminate each page The circle will then be clear.Demonstrate to the children how to put their
faces up to the page and demonstrate the feelings that correspond
with the whatever feeling is described on that page. As a language extension
allow the children to talk about things that create these type feelings
for them.

Doctor BagsEncourage children to make their own doctor's
bag and become familiar with different medical supplies with this activity
from Debra R.

Description: With white chalk outline a medical
bag on black construction paper. Ask the children to cut out the bag.
On various paper plates, put Band Aids, cotton balls, q-tips, gauze, medical tape and tongue
depressors. Have the children pick all the above things, preferably one of each. Then
ask them to glue the items to their doctor's bag. I display all of the doctor's bags on a health
bulletin board outside of my classroom with the heading, The
Doctors Are In.

Comments: At the beginning of the year, I
have parents send in their child's baby pictures and I place them above their doctor's
bag on the bulletin board.

Materials: One section of a egg carton, paint
and yarn or a piece of pipe cleaner.

Description: Give each child a section of
a egg carton. Have them paint it silver or any color you want. Before
or after it's dry, make a hole so that a piece of yarn or pipe cleaner
can fit through. When it's dry, each child has their a stethoscope of
their own

The
Effects of Smoking This early childhood lesson plan by Rabiah
L. is for older children and helps them discover that smoking
is detrimental to their health and that they should resist peer pressure
to smoke.

Materials: Puppets and smoking advertisements.

Description: 1. Hold up a smoking advertisement and
ask students what the advertisement tells us about smoking? Does it make it look
like it's cool? Is it telling us that you will have big muscles
when you smoke?

Lesson Presentation:1. Ask students what smoking really does to
you.

2. Ask if the smoking advertisement is truthful
or misleading. Would a smoker look like this? What would a real smoker
look like?

3. It is misleading because..(list on board) *tobacco can raise blood pressure and
make a heart beat faster *gives people bad breath, not cool *makes it more difficult to run so playing
sports is harder -big muscles on advertisement is definitely
misleading *It's more difficult for blood to move
around so you can't think as quickly. *can cause lung cancer or emphysema *smoker's cough

4. Ask students if they can list other detriments.

5. Pass out paper bags and crayons.
Assign partners. They can make a puppet out of the paper bag. One person can be the
peer pressure and try to get the other person (who is using the puppet)
to smoke. The child using the puppet refuses to smoke. He or she gives
reasons why he needs to say no. The reasons are the detriments discussed
earlier. Switch roles.

Closure: Review some of the detriments without
them being written on board.Evaluation: Puppet role playing.